Syfy's Forgotten 50-Episode Space Opera Deserves To Be As Big As Battlestar Galactica

Published Aug 22, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

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While Battlestar Galactica was a massive critical and commercial hit, SyFy’s other space opera from the same era deserved to be as fondly remembered as its more famous competitor. The space opera genre has come a long way since Star Trek: The Original Series debuted in the ’60s. From ribald parodies like Futurama and the short-lived British sci-fi sitcom Hyperdrive to the deluge of successful space operas from the ‘90s, including Stargate, Farscape, and Babylon 5, there is no shortage of iconic space opera series.

Add in cult classics like the one-season wonder Firefly and the legendary SA Corey adaptation The Expanse, and viewers don’t even need to go near the sprawling Star Trek franchise to find a great space opera series from every decade. That said, there are certain entries into the genre that are uniquely adored by critics. One was a reboot of a one-season series that not only outdid its predecessor, but soon became one of the most acclaimed space opera shows ever.

Debuting in 2003 as a three-part miniseries, Battlestar Galactica soon proved so popular that the reboot became a four-season hit. Battlestar Galactica was followed by the prequel spinoff Caprica, and their shared, complex story of a futuristic war between the remnants of humanity and sentient robots known as Centurions and Cylons became a cult classic in its own right. While the series outshone its original predecessor, the underrated Killjoys was never as lucky.

Killjoys Was Quietly Close To Battlestar Galactica's Level, But Had A Fraction Of Its Success

Debuting in 2015, Killjoys was a SyFy series that centered on a trio of bounty hunters. Hannah John-Kamen’s Dutch, Luke MacFarlane’s D’avin, and Aaron Ashmore’s Johnny worked on a four planet/moon system called the Quad for a group known as the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition. Since their roles as bounty hunters granted them a lot of leeway, the triumvirate had to stay neutral in any conflicts they encountered, which was often easier said than done.

One positive review for Killjoys pithily noted that not only does not every new show need to be True Detective season 1, and that they didn’t even all need to be Battlestar Galactica. What critics meant by this was that, even though the 2003 reboot had introduced a new level of moral complexity, grit, and realism to the space opera subgenre, post-Battlestar Galactica space shows weren’t inherently obliged to take themselves as seriously as that reboot did.

On the contrary, what many fans and reviewers alike loved about Killjoys was its sense of humor, its comparatively light-hearted and episodic adventure stories, and its ability to prioritize thrilling action and fun twists over cerebral attempts at serious sci-fi storytelling. Plenty of shows had attempted to copy the brooding tone and thoughtful writing of Battlestar Galactica after the reboot ended, which made Killjoys and its focus on pure fun a welcome reprieve.

What The Killjoys Cast Have Been In Since The Show Ended

Custom image by Ana Nieves

Of course, the show wasn’t as outright kid-friendly as something like the later Star Wars series Skeleton Crew. Although Killjoys was less self-serious than many space operas, the show still had plenty of stakes, morally grey characters, and enough gun play, knife fights, and chases to keep viewers on their toes. As such, it was no surprise that the series lasted five seasons until 2019.

Since then, the ensemble cast has kept busy with other projects. John-Kamen played a supporting role in Thunderbolts as well as starring in the Irish horror movie Unwelcome, and she played the title role in the mystery thriller miniseries The Stranger as well as a lead role in 2020’s Brave New World.

Ashmore appeared in the movies The Retreat and Suze, as well as 2026’s Harlan Coben miniseries I Will Find You. MacFarlane, meanwhile, starred in the movies Bros and This Is Not a Test as well as the TV shows Platonic, Hacks, Shifting Gears, and Invincible, proving that the Killjoys cast are still booked and busy even if the show never received the mainstream acclaim of Battlestar Galactica.

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  Hannah John-Kamen

  Dutch

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  John Jaqobis